Reinforcement of glass substrates in flexible devices

Abstract

A reinforcement technique used in the fabrication of displays, such as organic light emissive diode (OLED) display, is disclosed. A stiff reinforcement lid is mounted on a thin substrate to encapsulate the OLED cells. The lid serves to reinforce the thin flexible substrate and protect it from breakage. It comprises preferably of metal or other materials that have higher stiffness and ductility than the thin substrate. The fabricated display is compatible for integration into chip cards and other flexible applications.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0001]The present invention relates to displays, such as organic light emitting diode (OLED) displays. More particularly, the invention relates OLED displays, which are compatible for integration in chip cards or other thin flexible applications.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0002]FIG. 1 shows a conventional OLED device 100. The OLED device comprises one or more organic functional layers 110 between first and second electrodes 105 and 115 formed on a substrate 101. The electrodes can be patterned to form, for example, a plurality of OLED cells to create a pixelated OLED device. Bond pads 150, which are coupled to the first and second electrodes, are provided to enable electrical connections to the OLED cells. A cap 160 is formed over the substrate to encapsulate the device, protecting the OLED cells from the environment such as moisture and / or air.[0003]The substrate is preferably made from glass due to its good barrier properties against moisture or air. Glass su...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0007]In accordance with the invention, a reinforcement technique is provided for flexible displays. In one embodiment of the invention, a stiff and ductile cover lid is mounted on an ultra thin flexible glass substrate containing OLED devices. The cover lid comprises preferably of metal, or other materials that have higher stiffness and ductility than the substrate to protect it from breakage. The lid and substrate are sealed to encapsulate the OLED devices and protect them from environmental and mechanical damage.

[0008]The thickness of the fabricated OLED display is less than 0.6 mm. It is suitable for integration into chip cards or other thin flexible applications. The reinforcement protects the ultra thin substrates from breakage and does not affect the flexibility of the substrate. The process is suitable for large area, cost effective mass production.

Problems solved by technology

As such, conventional OLEDs are incompatible since they are too thick and are typically more than 2 mm thick.

However, the thin glass substrates are fragile and susceptible to breakage due to mechanical stress, such as bending of the chip card.

Images